Cincinnati's Arts Ambassadors

The arts are alive and very well in Cincinnati.

This was made clear Wednesday evening at Memorial Hall with the presentation of the first Cincinnati Art Ambassador Fellowships. Funded by the City of Cincinnati, the $6,000 fellowships are given for the creation and completion of new or existing work.

The recipients of the 2012-2013 fellowships -- puppeteer Jesse Mooney-Bullock, violinist Tatiana Berman, cellist Nathaniel Chaitkin, ceramic artist Terri Kern, sculptor Casey Riordan Millard, poet Tonya Matthews and filmmaker Melissa Godoy -- each spoke for ten minutes and provided a demonstration of his/her art.

City council member Laure Quinlivan, chair of the strategic growth committee, opened the program with a “state of the arts” address. In it, she spoke of Cincinnati’s importance as an arts center, being one of only 15 cities in the country with all of the “big five,” i.e. symphony, opera, ballet, theater and museums. She stressed that Cincinnati is committed to supporting the arts, even in difficult financial times (adding, with respect to the latter, that the arts fellowships amounted to only .01% of the city budget).

There were more than 100 applicants for the inaugural Art Ambassador Fellowships, Quinlivan said. Selection was made by the Cincinnati Arts Allocation committee, chaired by Todd Wurzbacher.

Filmmaker Godoy of Mt. Airy led off with an excerpt from her documentary about the carved wooden panels created for the original pipe organ at Music Hall. (The panels were scattered when the organ was demolished in 1972, with most of them now residing unseen in the orchestra pit at Music Hall.) The panels, which are unique for the intricate workmanship, were carved in 1878 by students of William and Henry Fry, all of them women who wished to learn and practice artistic skills at a time when society did not encourage them to do so. More at cinemasol.com. (For more about the ill-fated Music Hall organ at http://www.musicincincinnati.com/site/news_2010/The_Mighty_Music_Hall_Organ_A_Cautionary_Tale.html)

Terri Kern, a West Price Hill ceramic artist with a studio at the Pendleton Arts Center, projected samples of her work, which she shares with the community via outreach and education. More at www.Facebook.com/TerriKernStudios.

Cellist Nathaniel Chaitkin of Mt. Lookout, creator of “Bach and Boombox,” performed an excerpt from the unaccompanied cello suites of Johann Sebastian Bach, explaining how he presents “interactive” concerts in non-traditional venues to demonstrate the process of classical composition and its kinship to popular music. See bachandboombox.com

Sculptor Casey Riordan Millard of Kennedy Heights introduced her trademark image, “shark girl,” i.e. a girl with a shark’s head. Her life-sized "Shark Girl With Ohio River" will be installed in Yeatman’s Cove on the riverfront. (The concept derives from her imaginary fear as a child of sharks inhabiting the neighborhood swimming pool.) More at CaseyRiordanMillard.com

Queensgate poet and spoken word artist Tonya Matthews, i.e. “Jahipster,” recited a sample of her free verse. She writes, she said, from an “observational, external” point of view, as opposed to an internal, personal one, infusing her work with hip-hop, jazz, urban and Afro-centric allusions. Her grant will be applied to several works in progress. See www.jahipster.com.

Next up was violinist Tatiana Berman, founder and artistic director of the Cincinnati-based Constella Festival, who explained her multi-media approach to programming. She and tenor Grant Knox performed “Always for the First Time” by composer Nico Muhly from a 50-minute work in progress, which included animation by fellow arts ambassador Jesse Mooney-Bullock projected onto a screen. Visit Tatianaberman.blogspot.com

Puppet builder and puppeteer Mooney-Bullock of Northside brought his work to life with a puppet show featuring his creation, “Bear Boy,” a boy who, when angry, turns into a bear. It made for a delightful, “all’s well that ends well” conclusion to the program, with Bear Boy being advised by a grownup bear to “be slow to growl and quick to sniff.” More at www.bullooney.com.

The program will be repeated at 6 p.m. May 15 at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center, 3711 Clifton Ave.